True classic drivers cars; a list. What's your favourite?

This dovetails off my Type R thread. By all accounts, it's a great drivers car, maybe one of the better ones to come in a while. As I mentioned, it my might nice to own one of those at least once. But what are the truly classic drivers cars?

There are some obvious choices; 911, M3, NSX. There are also less obvious ones; original GTI, Saab 99 Turbo, hell maybe even the Neon ACR. So in your opinion what are the classic drivers cars? Extra points given for cars that can seat 4 people (the new Type R and M3 come to mind). If you come up with a high buck example, try to include a more pedestrian example as well. And yes, I'm using you to help me find my next car ;-)

Thanks,

Jeff

What is The Answer?

Pretty broad subject, so not knowing how far back you want to go,  here are some I  have owned that were pretty fun to drive.

2004 Mini Cooper S  (first generation) - impractical as hell, but so much fun to make the supercharger whine and no brake turns were so much fun. 

1991 MR2 Turbo - impractical as well, but again for my commute, it was the perfect car, good mileage, crazy fast and excellent if not slightly spooky handling. 

1987 CRX Si - how could 100 HP be so much fun? 

2006 GTO - how can 400 HP be so much fun? Okay never mind, that is obvious....

And of course "The Answer" in any generation is a true drivers car.

Let's keep things pretty modern (2000 and up). Let's not include 2 seaters. So in this case, the answer is not.

On my list, the top is probably a MINI Cooper S.  Most BMWs up to around 2010 or so before they started messing with the steering racks.  I also spent some time in an Audi S3 and enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.  That leads us to the Golf R as I think its the same chassis.  Another one I enjoyed more than I thought I would is new Charger.  Its no sports car, but drove surprisingly well.  

Selected from my ownership list:

• BMW 2002
• BMW e30 318is
• Focus SVT
• R53 Mini Cooper S

2004-2005 Saab 9-5 Aero. Wagon for bonus points.

Saab 9-3 Viggen

BMW 330I zzp or whatever the kids call it

Bi-Turbo Audi s4 (insert year) 2.7v6. super complicated and possibly unreliable, but oh so much fun!

240Z

In reply to Jeff :

MGTC , Jaguar D type, Jaguar XKE, Austin Healey Sprite Lotus S7

2000 and up isn't classic.

Lotus 7, Lotus Elan, Lotus Elite. Everything else has the 'driver's car' mission diluted in the interests of practicality. 

Since the e30 is an obvious choice, I'll throw out the Porsche 944/924S. Oft-overlooked because they're not 911s, but perfectly-balanced, reasonably quick for their time, roomy and comfortable inside, etc. I actually enjoy driving my 924S substantially more than my e30 at this point.

Top 3 of the few cars I've actually driven.. #1 Datsun roadster,  #2 2nd gen CRX, #3 3rd gen GSR.    Too much on the controls boost and you start losing the drivers thing.  I used to commute in an e30 but it didn't really give me good feel for what was happening.  Maybe I just didn't have a good one.

The best fwd chassis I've ever driven was an r53 cooper s. The best rwd was an r3 package rx8. If I could get my ms3 motor in an rx8 (which I suspect is possible) it would be about the perfect car. 

I've only had it a couple of weeks, but I quite like my 128i.  It's not far off E36 M3 performance, and the 135i is faster still.  For the performance they're a bargin.  If we want to talk older cars, it's hard to argue against a Lotus Elan, Europa or 7.  And I've been having bad thoughts about trying to build a Honda swapped X1/9 on a challenge budget.

Triumph TR8 coupe.  Most satisfying car I have ever driven, and I've driven too many  "drivers" to count.

Mitsu Evo 8/9 

I don't think anything I've driven that is newer than the 2000MY could be considered anywhere close to what I think a drivers car should be. 

Best driver’s car that seats four? Among the ones I’ve personally owned...

• Peugeot 405 Mi16
• Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16
• Lancer Evo VIII

These don’t really meet the criteria...

• Lancer Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition (Ok...I haven’t owned one, but I did drive one)
• BMW E30 M3 (can’t really seat four; back seats are kind of useless)

1977 Pontiac Can Am..

Great handling, fast, comfortable road trip car.

I like to ponder these types of questions - but newer, 4 seat , manual "classic driver's cars" are kind of few and far between.

I would say the e46 ZHP I drove felt pretty special and much better than an e90 330i.  But that is an older car, and likely to be a needy one too.

On the obscure side, I always wanted to try a cobalt SS with the turbo (not SC) motor.  They were known as excellent handling cars.

The first gen infiniti G35's might make the cut and were available with manual trans.

As said above, a 128i/135i or a 228i/235i would fit the bill.

Frisbee twins if you can count their rear seats?  I couldn't get past the tractor motor, but loved it otherwise.

Curve ball choice:  Porsche Macan?  Carmax has one for $40k.

Jeff said:

Let's keep things pretty modern (2000 and up). Let's not include 2 seaters. So in this case, the answer is not.

??? Sounds like you're not looking for "driver's cars," but rather "family cars that are fun to drive." 2 seaters are driver's cars. More seaters are compromises.

68 Alfa GTV, one of the most comfortable and best handling cars I've owned.

I'll throw down and limit my responses to what I've driven while keeping the modern parameters: 

E46 330 zhp

g35 m6 sedan ( I think this gets overlooked sometimes)

Acura TSX (Just a civic SI with two extra doors and leather)

E92 M3.  A driver's car with four proper seats is rare, from any era.

Mercedes builds some fast four-doors but, in my experience, Mercedes doesn't trust drivers and therefore interferes between the driver and the car, so not qualifying.

WRX STi is a drivers car, just an ill-handling one.

An air-cooled 911. I didn't understand the Porsche thing until I got behind the wheel. Now I get it.

I am surprised that a Cayman isn't on this list. I haven't driven one, but I think it will be my next fun car.